Games People Play by Louise Voss Read Free Book Online

didn’t mind my clammy jelly texture.
    ‘Van Morrison. He’s saying something about viaducts and oil drains.’
    Ivan laughed at me – again. ‘I think he’s saying “your dreams”, not oil drains.’
    He had this annoying knack of making me feel about two inches tall, even when I was completely out of it, which was quite a feat, considering. I finally managed to lift his hand off my belly. It was as heavy as a lead weight.
    ‘I hardly know you,’ I said, as haughtily as I could.
    ‘You will,’ he replied confidently.
    Within minutes his hand was back again, resting warm and heavy on my bare skin. I peeked at him as his eyelids slid down, black eyelashes feathering his cheeks, wondering if he was right, whether I would know him.
    In a moment of lucidity, I scrutinized his body: the hard muscles of his legs, the little whorls of dark hair sticking out of the top of his T-shirt, the way that his suntan stopped in an abrupt line across his bicep.
    I must have fallen asleep too, because the next thing I knew was a shortness of breath, a sensation of being smothered. Ivan was on top of me, gently kissing my neck, and with his fingers creeping like a spider up my leg, under my skirt.
    ‘Get off!’ I shouted in panic, for a moment not even remembering who he was.
    At that moment, the screen door slammed and I heard voices in the house.
    ‘Corinna!’ I yelled as loudly as I could.
    Ivan rolled off me immediately. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered, sitting up and combing his hair back into place with his fingers.
    ‘Susie? Are you all right? Oh, sorry.’ Corinna had stuck her head round my door, but retreated immediately when she saw Ivan.
    I sat up too. Thankfully, everything seemed to have stopped whirling. ‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I called back. ‘Just checking it was you.’
    ‘It’s me – and Calvin,’ she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. ‘See you in the morning, OK?’
    We heard giggles, and the sound of her bedroom door shutting.
    ‘I’d better go, hadn’t I?’ said Ivan, not meeting my eyes.
    I touched his face gently. It was such a relief to feel a bit better, although I could tell that I still wasn’t back to normal. My voice sounded as if it was coming out of a long tunnel. ‘Yeah. I need to sleep more.’
    ‘Can I see you again?’
    I pretended to think about it for a minute. ‘If you promise never again to try it on with me when I’m sleeping.’
    He hung his head in mock contrition. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘OK then. Thanks for looking after me today.’
    ‘You’re welcome. I’ll be in touch.’
    Then, with a small heave and creak of the mattress, he was gone. I immediately fell asleep again, grateful for the escape from the torment of the past two hours (masquerading as nine hours), and vowing never to touch pot again as long as I lived.
    And I haven’t touched it since. It’s sort of odd that I ended up living with a total dopehead, but there you go.

Chapter 6
    Rachel
    It’s three in the morning. My eyes hurt and my head is fuzzy, but I woke up about an hour ago, and I know it’s going to be a long time before I get back to sleep tonight. I kind of wish I had gone in to see Mark at the pub on the way home after all. What’s the point of a relationship if you can’t confide in the one you love? A hug and a kiss from him would have really helped.
    Perhaps Mark’s and Dad’s mutual antipathy made me worried that some small part of Mark would gloat, or make a joke about not having to hide our relationship any more if Dad really had been arrested and was going to jail; and I would lose it with him. I love him deeply and completely, but that not to say I don’t sometimes feel just a little bit scared of his unpredictability.
    What would Dad be going to jail for? It’s preposterous. Bloody Elsie, putting ideas into everyone’s heads. I mean, if I’m worrying about the possibility that it might be true, what must everyone else at the club be thinking?
    It was dark and quiet inside